Results of meeting between key rival officials in Libya are unclear

Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army(LNA) associated with the eastern-based government of the House of Representatives (HoR) was to a meeting in United Arab Emirates (UAE) just three weeks ago.

The last meeting was at the invitation of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. He is said to have met secretly with a US official at that time. The present meeting too is at the invitation of Sheikh Mohammed who is not just the crown prince of Abu Dhabi but deputy commander of the UAE armed forces. The UAE organized a meeting of Haftar with the head of the Presidential Council(PC) of the Government of National Accord (GNA), Faiez Serraj. There has been pressure from many quarters to have Serraj meet with Haftar, including Egypt, Russia, and the US.

In February, Haftar had refused to meet with Serraj in Cairo after the Egyptian government had one planned. Apparently, he refused because the head of the HoR, Ageela Saleh was in Cairo at the time and Haftar felt he should attend as well. Egypt was apparently angered at Haftar's action and relations seem to have cooled somewhat. Egyptian president Abdel el-Sisi has been a staunch supporter of Haftar. The UAE has also been a prime supporter of Haftar, providing him with equipment and probably bombing Tripoli several times on his behalf back in 2014.

A BBC post notes that Western governments have recently appeared to take on a more serious mediation role in order to end the political and military impasse in the country. As the article notes Haftar refuses to recognize the authority of the UN-brokered Government of National Accord accepted by the UN and most countries as the legitimate government. A UN resolution states that countries should not meet with officials of parallel Libyan institutions that do no recognize the GNA. However, countries do so all the time. Last April a UN Security Council Statement said:The members of the Security Council renewed their call in resolution 2259 (2015) on Member States to cease support to and official contact with parallel institutions that claim to be the legitimate authority, but are outside of the Libyan Political Agreement as specified by it.Numerous countries have had meetings with Haftar who heads the parallel LNA and with Ageela Saleh who heads the HoR parallel government and is actually sanctioned. The article notes that one of the prime reasons that Haftar does not accept the GNA is because under the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) that sets up the GNA section 8 gives the function of commander in chief of the Libyan Armed Forces to the PC rather than him. He wants to remain commander in chief.

The HoR last rejected the required motion of confidence in the GNA required by the LPA last August 22. Virtually nothing has been accomplished since then. There was supposed to be a new cabinet presented within ten days. There is still no new cabinet nor any amendment to the LPA. One of the conditions that the HoR has set for even participating in a dialogue is the deletion of section 8. It is highly likely that many members of the PC, GNA, and the High State Council, will reject the deletion of section 8 and refuse to accept Haftar as commander in chief of a united Libyan armed forces within a unified GNA. The BBC article concludes:Today there are signs that both sides may be willing to give an inch over the matter to reach a workable compromise. How long that will take in Libya’s snail-paced ‘progress’ is anyone’s guess.

The latest article from Al Jazeera says nothing about what the meeting accomplished:Both men were expected to discuss army-related amendments to an agreement signed by the Libyan factions in Morocco in December 2015, according to Abu Bakr Baeira, a member of the eastern parliament. Libyan television broadcaster 218 reported that the two held talks "in private" after posing for a photograph together. Emirati officials did not immediately comment.

However there is lots of activity on Twitter that remains to be confirmed. Several tweets claim that an agreement was reached between the two. One says: Under deal, "presidential and parliamentary elections to be held within 6 months of agreement coming into effect." (al-Arabiya). Another says: 3-person presidency council including Serraj & speakers of Tripoli & Tobruq parliaments will serve as "supreme commander of armed forces". An article in Arabiya however notes that there was no official statement at the end of the meetings. In other words, there is no official confirmation of any agreement. The news about agreements comes from interested parties. Al Arabiya speaks of sources close to Haftar as saying that the talks were positive. Libya 218 channel, a pro-Haftar TV outlet said that he and Serraj had agreed to canceling the clause and to form a restructured unity government. A source in Abu Dhabi said: “It was agreed to open permanent channels of communication and to form two working groups to complete an agreement on the details of the formation of a government and the military arrangements between officers from all regions." The source also said that they had an agreement to hold parliamentary elections no later than March 2018. The paper notes that there was no comment from the GNA.

Until there is further confirmation it is not clear what is happening. It would seem unlikely that the PC or the High Council would agree to deleting Section 8. While replacing it with a clause that makes Serraj plus the speakers of the Tobruq and Tripoli parliament's function as supreme commander might be acceptable to the PC and Council, it is somewhat surprising that Haftar would accept it. However, perhaps he thinks he can run for president and become Abdel el_Sisi the second. There now may be another unlikely scheme by international forces to involve Libya in possibly even more chaos. As of now, there is no speaker of the Tripoli parliament since until the GNA is approved by the HoR there is no GNA parliament. Or perhaps the HIgh State Council is parliament for now as it declared last September! Is Sewehli the planned third member of the PC!

UPDATE: A new article has just appeared in the Libya Herald about the Serraj Haftar meeting. It shows how unreliable reports about what happened are. The Herald sources are "unconfirmed reports". The reports differ wildly from others. For example, the narrative about the Presidential Council changes: The formation of a new presidency council to comprise a president plus the head of the House of Representatives and the general commander of the Libyan armed forces". The report also claims section 8 of the LPA will be deleted. So the third member of the PC would be Haftar. This might suit Haftar but it is non-starter with most members of the PC and the High State Council. Apparently Egyptian President el-Sisi is to join Haftar and Serraj in Cairo next week for further discussions. The official plan by the UAE and Egypt to help Haftar take over Libya may be unveiled then.

Southern Libya may become battleground between forces of competing governments

The Defense Ministry of the UN-brokered Libyan Government of National Accord(GNA) announced today that a new military operation titled Awaited Hope would fight forces loyal to the eastern commander Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

Spokesperson for the Ministry Mohammed al-Ghasrisaid the operation was aimed at eradicating the forces of Mohammed Ben Nayel, who is loyal to Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army of the east-based House of Representatives(HoR) government. Just four days ago, Ben Nayel militants attacked the Third Force, loyal to the GNA at the Tamnihint air base in Sabha.

Last Thursday, Misrata Political Bloc, a group of Misrata city MPès and politicians requested the Presdidency Council (PC) of the GNA to crush the operations of Haftar in the south. Haftar operations are often referred to as Operation Dignity, and they are meant to clear out all Islamist opponents of Haftar from Libya. The operation began in May of 2014. The Misrta group said that immediate action had become imperative. Preparations to send troops south were said to be in full swing.

Meanwhile, the Operations Room of the Presidential Council's air force said in a statement that last Wednesday their warplanes had responded to air attacks of Dignity Operation on the Third Force positions and personnel at Timnahent air base. The Operations Room said that fighter aircraft had targeted warplanes of the Dignity Operation that were at the Barak Al-Sahtea air base.

Colonel Mohammed Ganono reading from the statement said: "This is a message for all those who cherish messing with the fortunes of the Libyans or acting away from the legitimate Government of National Accord. The die is cast. Our air force will no longer tolerate such actions by Dignity Operation command and our personnel and warplanes will target any illegal movements across the entire country." Early Wednesday morning Dignity Operation fighter aircraft had bombed locations around the Tamniint airbase according to Third Force commander Jamal al-Treki. He confirmed that the group had engaged in heavy clashes with Ben Nayel's forces.

The commander of the DIgnity Operation in the region, Shareef Al-Awami, threatened to attack Misrata airbase if any more attacks were made on the Barak Al-Shatea air base. Al-Awami said: “We have the ability to intercept and down their L-39 jet fighters". The Brak Al-Sahti air base is about 60 kilometers north of Sabha a main city in southwestern Libya.

The radical group Benghazi Defense Brigades(BDB or SDB)) have decided that they will turn over the Jufra air base to central government forces creating a situation where there could be more clashes with Haftar forces. A tweet notes: "#Libya- #SDB statement on willingness to handover Jufrah Airbase to "General Staff of the Libyan Army" (#GNA-#Misrata)"

The prime minister of the eastern-based rival HoR government, Abdullah al-Thinni, has now rejected the view of international leaders, including the UN envoy Martin Kobler, that dialogue is the only way forward and there is no military solution. Al-Thinni insists that divisions in the country can only be resolved by military means. This is the position of Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar as well. An outright civil war is in danger of starting.

Mass demonstration in Tripoli against militias in the city

Thousands of Libyans have mounted a mass demonstration against the powerful militias that dominate Tripoli. The demonstration was in the Martyr's Square.

The demonstrators shouted slogans against the militias and demanded a unified army and police. The city has been rocked by clashes the last few days. Khalifa Ghwell who was attempting a coup lost his headquarters at the Rixos hotel complex. A ceasefire was reached yesterday but some key militia rejected it and there have been further clashes since.

There were some who shouted support for Khalifa Haftar commander of the rival Libyan National Army linked to the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR). Haftar is opposed not only to the Tripoli militias but the UN-brokered Government of National Accord as well. Mohamed Zein, a 27-year-old protestor said: "We won't go home until our demands are met. We ask for all militias that have come from outside of Tripoli to leave immediately."

The protesters marched peacefully demanding that all illegitimate militia leave Tripoli as was also part of the recent ceasefire agreement. They demanded the activation of police and army institutions in the capital. The Libya Observer claims that supporters of Khalifa Haftar had infiltrated the protests and started to shout slogans in support of him as well as racist slogans against the city of Misrata. Some militia in Tripoli come from Misrata.

After this happened gunmen in pickups stormed the square and fired shots into the air in order to intimidate the protesters and disperse the protestors. In spite of the gunfire, there has as yet been no report of casualties. The Grand Mufti, Al-Sadiq Al-Gharyani, accused Khalifa Haftar as being behind recent clashes. He denounced the silence of the official authorities toward the ongoing clashes. The PC was able to reach a ceasefire as mentioned earlier but it does not include some key militia. There appear to have been a number of different causes of the clashes among militia with varying agendas.

There have been numerous tweets on the demonstrations and related events. One tweet notes that 22 militia announce that they support the GNA government: "22 Local militias in Tripoli announce (for the first time) that they are part of Libyan UN backed gov. UN gov supporting militias officially." No doubt this sudden loyalty to the GNA is related to a desire not to be ordered out of Tripoli. Another tweet reports on the gunmen who broke up the demonstration: Witnesses: "3 vehicles fired shots in the air to intimidate protesters against militias in Tripoli. #Libya." The gunmen have yet to be identified.

Khalifa Haftar meets with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in Moscow

Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), the armed forces associated with the eastern-based House of Representatives(HoR) government met Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Haftar said that he sought Russian help in his fight against Islamist militants in Libya. Haftar was visiting Moscow for the second time since this summer. He had visited in September and asked for military support. There is a UN ban on arms shipments to Libya. The HoR government is a rival to the UN-brokered Government of National Accord (GNA). Any exception granted to the arms embargo would be granted only to approved units associated with the GNA rather than Haftar's LNA. A number of countries are supportive of Haftar including Egypt, the UAE and Russia as well it would seem. French special forces have also helped Haftar.

At the beginning of his talks with Lavrov, Haftar said: "Our relations are crucial, our goal today is to give life to these relations. We hope we will eliminate terrorism with your help in the nearest future." However, Haftar considers many Islamist militia supporting the rival GNA government also as terrorists. He is also laying siege to the city of Derna ruled by groups who were instrumental in driving the Islamic State from the city. Haftar told Lavrov that he had met Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and had told him of his military requirements. Russian authorities would not say whether it would offer Haftar military support but described the talks as business as usual. Russia previously printed banknotes for the eastern breakaway branch of the Libyan Central Bank.

Haftar said of the meeting with Lavrov: "We spoke in general. We explained our position with regards to arms supplies. As a great country, Russia respects the arms embargo until it indicates it is an unjust verdict." Lavrov said in praise of Haftar: "We appreciate your role in protecting the country’s independence and territorial integrity. We can see how deeply you understand the interconnection between the struggle for sovereignty and the need to suppress terrorists." Not a word is uttered about the Libya Political Agreement and the failure of the HoR government to vote confidence in the GNA. Not a word about Haftar's opposition to the GNA or his opposition to the Libyan Dialogue. However Lavrov does say: "We are committed to searching for ways of national reconciliation in Libya in accordance with the decisions made by the UN Security Council. Today it will be useful for us to learn your assessment of the developments." One of the UN decisions it to recognize the GNA and its institutions as the sole legitimate Libyan institutions, but Russia, along with other countries, is dealing with the army of a parallel competing institution, the government of the HoR.

The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement that said: “The Russian side stressed the importance of the continuation of an inclusive inter-Libyan dialogue, based on the imperative of ensuring unity of the country, preserving sovereignty and territorial integrity of Libya. The readiness of Moscow to contribute to the successful promotion of political process in liaising with leaders of various Libyan political forces was confirmed." The statement provided no detail as to how Moscow hoped to promote the political process and create unity. The meeting with Haftar can only strengthen his resolve to continue with his Operation Dignity and his opposition to the UN-brokered Government of National Accord.

As you can see from the appended video, Haftar is not going to Russia with "cap in hand" to ask for arms but with "hat on head".

Oil shipments resume from eastern oil port of Zuwetina

Last Thursday an oil tanker took on the first load of crude for export from the Libyan port of Zuwetina since late last year. The tanker, the Ionic Anassa loaded 800,000 barrels of crude to be exported to China.

Zuwetina is one of several ports that opened last month after being seized by Marshal Haftar's forces associated with the House of Representatives Government (HoR), a rival to the UN-supported Government of National Accord (GNA). However, Haftar has allowed oil to be exported by the National Oil Company (NOC) located in Tripoli and associated with the GNA.

The reopening of the port of Zuwetina, along with Ras Lanuf and Es Sider has allowed Libya to boost oil prodction. Exports have also begun at Ras Lanuf but not at Es Sider which was damaged earlier in clashes with the Islamic State and also Islamist forces who tried to take control of the port.

Oil production has already risen considerably from what it was. An official said that production now stood at between 505,000 and 510,000 barrels a day. Before the ports reopened, production had been just between 200,000 and 300,000 barrels per day. While the NOC said it hoped to raise production to 900,000 barrels a day by year end, this will depend upon reopening blocked pipelines in the west of Libya. One should note that it also depends upon Haftar being satisfied with the revenues received by the eastern government from the sale of oil. In a tweet, Agilah Saleh head of the HoR is quoted as saying: " Ageila Saleh: Oil revenues will go to the central bank in #Tripoli. #Libya "

The announcement of the increase comes just as the OPEC cartel moved a week ago to reduce oil supplies by cutting production. The increased production in Libya will offset some of the cuts made elsewhere in production. However, Libya along with Nigeria were exempted from the cuts imposed on other members of OPEC back on Sept. 28.

Geoff Porter, president of North Africa Risk Consulting said of General Haftar who seized the ports from the Petroleum Facilities Guard: “In the short term, this is very good news. He is making a play to bolster his political legitimacy, and he is trying to present himself as a national unifying figure.” However, Porter points out that Haftar could easily use his seizure of the ports to block exports "if competing militias or the government in Tripoli do not agree to give him whatever political role he demands in in the future." Haftar can also demand that the oil revenue be divided in a way that he approves. Haftar is agreeing to share the oil revenue with the GNA only because otherwise he would not be able to export oil legally.

David Goldwyn, who used to be the top energy diplomat at the US State Department said: “Were Libya able to sustain this level of production for a year, it would certainly undermine the OPEC agreement and result in no reduction whatsoever. But the likelihood for them to sustain that level of production for one month, no less six months, is very low, and that is probably the way OPEC views it.”

Agilah Saleh, president of the HoR said: "The revenues of oil will be deposited in the central bank of Libya and will be for all Libyans according to geographic distribution and density of population. All Libyans benefit from this wealth.” A unified NOC was negotiated some time ago but the HoR had rejected it. It would seem that negotiations are still taking place to finalise arrangements. However for the present Haftar and the HoR appear to be wiling to accept existing distribution arrangements. The alternative is to not to be able to export oil at all and have no revenue coming in.

Commentators fail to point out that the GNA was in fact negotiating with a parallel institution, the eastern NOC, in creating a merged NOC. The agreement ends up ensuring that the HoR and the Libyan National Army(LNA) of Marshal Haftar are funded through the Libyan Central Bank in Tripoli. Instead of cutting off funds and making it difficult for the rival government to survive the GNA in fact has agreed to provide them support through sharing oil revenues. The GNA is putting itself in an ever weakening position versus the rival HoR. Haftar now has more leverage to ask for concessions from the GNA. However, he may not be interested in any deal. He may feel that the final solution in Libya is his Operation Dignity which will end up defeating his Islamist rivals and destroy the GNA.

As the appended video shows many stakeholders are changing their tune about Haftar once he let oil exports resume.

Libyan Government of National Accord desperate to have Khalifa Haftar join government

The PM designate of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), Faiez Serraj, claims Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) of the rival government of the House of Representatives (HoR) will be part of a new GNA government.

Serraj told France 24: “In the reconciliation process, no one is excluded” he said to France 24, “We are trying to bring together all Libyan views.” Martin Kobler, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) also said two weeks ago that Haftar had to play a role in a the army of any new GNA. Many in the present GNA and certainly within the State Council are completely opposed to having Haftar play any role in the GNA armed forces. Serraj claims that he knows there are disagreements "but we want to build a united military institution under political leadership." Given the opposition to including Haftar within the GNA and that Haftar himself has shown no interest in being part of any armed force which he does not command or control, it is difficult to understand why Kobler and Serraj continue with their plan which appears to have little hope of success.

Haftar has made it eminently clear that he is not interested in working with Kobler, whom he refuses to meet, or with Serraj either whom he has yet to meet recently on the issue. He has complained about Kobler being meddlesome and of the GNA being dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood and armed gangs. Most of the militia supporting the GNA and those from Misrata who defeated the Islamic State he regards as his enemies. He believes that Libya would be better off ruled by someone with military expertise such as Egyptian president el-Sisi. Haftar admires el-Sisi who in turn supports Haftar.

Serraj is busy trying to get supporters of Haftar to persuade him to join in a new unity government it would appear. He recently visited the UAE and met with the Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Sheik Al-Nahyan. Serraj extended thanks and appreciation to the UAE for its support and efforts to build Libyan's national institutions. The UAE has supported Haftar and the rival HoR government as its way of building national institutions!

Serraj also met with French president Francois Hollande where at a press conference he again reiterated that he wanted dialogue and reconciliation and would present quickly "the composition of a new government in which everyone will be represented in a balanced way." The HoR rejected the GNA in a confidence vote on August 22. A new government list was to have been presented weeks ago. Serraj claims that he has met with Haftar in the past and still has "indirect contacts" with him in order "unify the military institution and the security forces". There is no sign of any success in doing so. France was shown to have helped Haftar when several French agents were killed in a helicopter crash or downing.

In a final move to forge an agreement that will accommodate Haftar and his supporters, a meeting is planned in France that will be attended by both supporters of the GNA and of Haftar and the HoR. Attending will be representatives from Egypt, the UAE, Qatar, and Turkey. The aim is to plan how to advance unity in Libya. There is no mention of who if anyone will be present from the GNA or the HoR. Serraj noted that the decision to include Haftar in a new government was "motivated by necessity as much as choice."

Haftar increased his power considerably earlier this month when he seized four oil ports in the Oil Crescent from his rival Ibrahima Jadhran of the Petroleum Facilities Guard. It is not clear that Haftar has any interest in reconciliation or accommodation when he may be able to destroy the GNA. Given its weak performance so far more and more Libyans may turn from the GNA to Haftar as the strong man who can save them. A recent tweet claims: "Serraj invited hafter & agila s to join GNA gov , hafter refused" A|geela is head of the HoR. He is under sanction by the EU. It is not clear how the upcoming meeting in France can find a forward that will unite the two factions. The plan to include Haftar in a new GNA seems to be a non-starter in the first place since such a move would likely result in the disintegration of the GNA as so many members of the GNA would reject such a move. Even if the group does come up with such a plan it is not clear who would implement it or how the two sides could be convinced to implement it.

Interview with Marshal Khalifa Haftar reveals his policies

In written responses to questions from the Associated Press, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, said that his armed forces only recognized the authority of the Al-Thinni House of Representatives (HoR) government.

The HoR government, based in Tobruk, is a rival to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli. Haftar refuses to recognize the GNA government and no doubt helped ensure that the GNA has never been able to win a vote of confidence in the HoR as required by the Libya Political Agreement (LPA). The term of the GNA is supposed to start after the vote and the HoR would become the legislature of the GNA.

The HoR has twice rejected the GNA the last time being on August 22. The Presidency Council (PC) of the GNA is to present a new list of eight ministers to the HoR to vote and also to amend the constitutional declaration to incorporate the GNA in the constitution. However, although a recent joint statement of many nations reiterated the need for the vote, there is no sign yet of the list or any date set for a vote, more than a month later. Meanwhile, Haftar has taken over four key oil ports from his rival Ibrahim Jodran, who heads, or did head, the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG). It appears that lip service is still being paid to the long-standing policy of having the HoR vote confidence in the GNA and thus join the GNA as its legislature. At the same time, Haftar is gaining more power and more external support from countries such as Egypt, Russia, Jordan and the UAE. He has advanced to within about 50 kilometers of Sirte, taking over former Islamic State territory to the east that had been captured by the PFG. The UN envoy to Libya Martin Kobler, and the PM of the GNA Faiez Serraj appear desperate to negotiate a deal with Haftar to join the GNA. However, Haftar gives no sign of even wanting to negotiate. Certainly, he will not join a GNA in which the PC rather than he serve the role of commander in chief.

Haftar's tactics are simply to continue with his Operation Dignity which aims to clear Libya of Islamists or at least those who oppose him including militias who at present are allied with the GNA. In his interview, Haftar claims that the country would be better served by a leader with a high-level of military experience. No doubt Haftar has himself in mind for the role. As the problems of the GNA multiply and it is unable to extend its power in the east and other parts of the country, Haftar is seen increasingly as a strong leader able to defeat terrorists and restore order and stability to Libya. This would enable foreign powers to have safe access to Libyan oil resources and profitably develop them. Egypt's president Abdel el-Sisi is highly regarded by Haftar and the feeling is mutual with el-SIsi strongly supporting Haftar, in spite of pledging along with other countries to recognize and support only the GNA.

In his interview, Haftar specifically cites Egypt as a success: "Military people who were elected to lead their country achieved remarkable success." Actually Egypt is still plagued by terrorist violence, has a horrible human rights record, and its economy needed to be bailed out not just by rich Arab neighbors but by the IMF. Haftar would not say whether or not he would seek the highest office in Libya. He said Libya first needed security with political and social stability.

Haftar blames Libya's problems on the Muslim Brotherhood and claims that Tripoli has been hijacked by armed gangs whose expansion has created rogue militias and Islamist factions. Certainly, the Brotherhood does have some influence in the GNA. The militias are a problem, and so far the GNA has not developed its own separate armed forces to provide security and control them. However, militias loyal to Haftar also cause havoc and are involved in clashes.

Haftar also lashed out at UN envoy Martin Kobler whom he accuses of meddling in Libyan affairs. Kobler allegedly tried to set up a meeting between Haftar and Serraj to discuss the makeup of the Libyan army. At first, when Haftar seized the four oil terminals at Ras Lanuf, Es Sidra, Zuwetina, and Brega a number of nations including the U.S., France, Italy, Germany, the U.K. and Spain demanded Haftar withdraw. After Haftar announced the ports would be handed over to the National Oil Company (NOC) and oil exports resumed, there were no more demands to withdraw.

Haftar has no plans to withdraw from the area and said: "The Libyan National Army's priorities are to protect the oil fields and ports of export." Haftar also called for the UN to lift the arms embargo on Libya. The UN has agreed to partially lift it but only to provide arms to groups vetted by the GNA not to the LNA which is not under GNA control.

There is considerable evidence that during some periods Haftar was helped by the CIA to flee to the U.S. where he became commander of the armed wing of the Libyan National Salvation Front. In the 1990's he claimed that he was building an armed force with U.S. help to topple Gadaffi. Haftar claimed in his interview that he has never worked with the CIA: "If I was working for U.S. intelligence they would be my first supporters with weapons and money." Up until now the U.S. has been a strong backer of the GNA so it is quite possible that he is getting no money from the CIA. If he does, it is probably through the UAE or other supporters. Perhaps the CIA may decide it should compete with Russia to curry Haftar's favor, especially if they think he will eventually win out over the GNA. A recent tweet provides a warning for the west to perhaps notice that it should support the military horse Haftar rather than that plodding technocratic horse Serraj: "Khalifa Haftar has requested #Russia to end its arms embargo on #Libya, begin supplying weapons & military equipment".